Men's Box

Box lacrosse, also known as indoor lacrosse and sometimes shortened to boxla or simply box, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America.

The Field: The game originated in Canada, where it is the most popular version of the game played in contrast to the traditional field lacrosse game. It is played between two teams of six players each, and is traditionally played on an ice hockey rink once the ice has been removed or covered.

The 9 feet (2.7 m) to 9 feet 3 inches (2.82 m) diameter area surrounding the net is called the "crease". Players except for the goaltender may not enter the crease while playing the ball. Punishments for crease infractions include a change of possession, resetting of the time-clock, or a possible two-minute penalty depending on the infraction. Opposing players may not make contact with the goaltender while he is in the crease. Once he leaves the crease, however, he loses all goaltender privileges.[29]

Overview: During play, a team consists of six players: a goalkeeper and five "runners". A runner is any non-goalkeeper position player, including forwards, transition players, and defenders. When the sport originated teams played with six runners. Team rosters are typically a total of as many players as a team can carry. The goalkeeper can be replaced by another runner (often when a penalty has been signaled by the referee or at the end of a quarter).

Equipment: A player's lacrosse stick (Crosse)must be between 40 inches (1.0 m) and 46 inches (1.2 m) in length (there are no long-poles in Box lacrosse). Besides a lacrosse stick, each player must also wear a certain amount of protective equipment, including a lacrosse helmet with facemask, lacrosse gloves, arm and shoulder pads, and back/kidney pads (rib pads are optional but encouraged in most leagues).In some box leagues the five "runners" wear helmets specifically designed for box lacrosse. These helmets consist of a hockey helmet with a box lacrosse face mask attached instead of a hockey cage. Players who use these helmets often cite that they are lighter than field lacrosse helmets as the primary advantage.

Positions:

Goal: The goaltender's responsibility is to prevent the opposition from scoring goals by directly defending the net. Box lacrosse goaltenders equipment includes upper body gear (measuring no more than 3 inches (7.6 cm) up and 5 inches (13 cm) out off the shoulder—much larger than similar gear for field lacrosse or ice hockey goaltenders), large shin guards that must measure no more than 11 inches (28 cm) at the knee, 9 inches (23 cm) at the top of the shin and 7 inches (18 cm) at the ankle, and a field lacrosse helmet or ice hockey goalie mask.

Defence:A defender is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring. Unlike in field lacrosse where some defensive players carry "long poles" (a lacrosse stick with a 5 feet (1.5 m) shaft or handle), all box lacrosse defenders play with a maximum 46 inches (1.2 m) long stick.[38] Defensive tactics include cross checking (where a player uses the shaft of his stick to push the opposition player off balance), body checking (where a player makes contact with the opposition player in order to slow him down), and stick checking (where a player makes contact with the opposition player's stick in order to knock the ball loose).[39]

Transition:A transition player is a player whose responsibility is primarily to play during defensive situations with an offensive mindset. The goal of this player is to create fastbreaks and scoring opportunities.

Forwards: A forward is a player position on the field whose responsibility is primarily offensive. Typically, a forward is dominant throwing with one hand or the other, and will primarily play on that side of the floor. Some players, known as creasemen, do not focus on one side or the other. These players instead focus their offensive attention near the crease area in front of the goaltender.

General Play: Each period, and after each goal scored, play is restarted with a face-off. If a ball travels over the boards and outside of the playing area, play is restarted by possession being awarded to the opposing team to that which last touched the ball.[29]

During play, teams may substitute players in and out freely. Sometimes this is referred to as "on the fly" substitution. Substitution must occur within the designated exchange area in front of the players bench in order to be legal. The sport utilizes a shot clock and the attacking team must take a shot on goal within 30 seconds of gaining possession of the ball. In additional, players must advance the ball from their own defensive end to the offensive half of the floor within 10 seconds.

Penalties: For most penalties, the offending player is sent to the penalty box and his team has to play without him and with one less player for a short amount of time. Most penalties last for two minutes unless a major penalty has been assessed. The team that has taken the penalty is said to be playing shorthanded while the other team is on the power play.[38]

A two-minute minor penalty is often called for lesser infractions such as slashing, tripping, elbowing, roughing, too many players, illegal equipment, holding, or interference. Five-minute major penalties are called for especially violent instances of most minor infractions that result in intentional injury to an opponent, as well as for fighting.

A penalty shot, where a player from the non-offending team is given an attempt to score a goal without opposition from any defending players except the goaltender, may be awarded under certain circumstances. By rule, teams must have at least three runners in play. If a team commits a third penalty resulting in a "three man down" situation a penalty shot is awarded in favor of having the offending player serve in the penalty box. A penalty shot may also be awarded, at the referee's discretion, if a defensive player causes a foul to prevent a goal (by throwing his stick, holding, tripping, or by deliberately displacing the goal, or a defensive player intentionally falls and covers a ball in his own team's crease).